Dave Matthews Band ~ 1 June 2009 ~ Beacon Theatre, New York, New York

Lyrics, Lead Vocal, Guitars: Dave Matthews
Violin, Vocal: Boyd Tinsley
Drums, Vocal: Carter Beauford
Bass: Stefan Lessard
Saxophone, Flute: Jeff Coffin
Electric Guitar: Tim Reynolds
Trumpet, Vocal: Rashawn Ross

Oh my, what an amazing show!  The internet is certainly changing our world.  Seeing this concert last night broadcast live on FUSE TV over the internet - a new way for me to experience a concert.  It was a little like watching a concert DVD, but not exactly, because it was in "real" time.  I had the sense that I was there, watching it unfold.  And I didn't have to deal with any "crowd anxiety," so in some ways it was better than live...  I'm still looking forward to seeing them under the stars in Saratoga, though.  If last night's performance is any indication of where they are headed, I'm in for a special treat!

The group did an interview on CBS's Sunday Morning the day before.  They told about how they were having a lot of personal problems between themselves.  Before he died, LeRoi Moore confronted Dave Matthews and advised him that he needed to start leading the band again, but Dave's response was to send them all a letter telling them he was through, that he could not lead them.  But the letter caused them all to talk and lay their cards on the table and take a fresh look at things.  And they started coming together again on their new album, Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King.  And then LeRoi, the GrooGrux King, died suddenly and it brought them all even closer together.  Carter Beauford feels they have matured through this crisis, and that LeRoi was the one who shined the light to show them the way.  LeRoi is still very much with them.  They went back to their roots and have come up, new growth on the original plant.  Last night Dave said that LeRoi shined the light on what they had and so they found out how they did it again.

Personally, I only liked a few of the songs on the Stand Up album, and felt that the producer had led them astray from their synergy and concentrated too much on working with them individually.  But I loved the energy from every song from the new album that they played last night - they all sounded like DMB songs!  They have three excellent musicians joining them for this tour.  Guitar wizard Tim Reynolds humbly performed his magic, adding his stunning talent to the mix.   Rashawn Ross was back with his super trumpet playing and surprised me with a great voice, singing back-up for Dave.  Jeff Coffin, saxophonist for Béla Fleck & The Flecktones, completed the group with his own mesmerizing and sometimes playful way of relating to this group...  Yes, I'm thrilled!  My band is back!  Dave is once again doing what he does best, writing and singing songs with deep and deceptively simple lyrics, and surrounding himself with (and reluctantly leading) top-notch musicians who bring it all together in a captivating way.

The concert lasted three hours and I was laughing and crying and yawning and dancing while sitting on the couch.  I had fallen asleep at least three times waiting for it to begin, so Tim set an alarm, and I was awake when it began.  Dave has twin daughters, one of them is named Grace, a word and name he has used often in his songs.  One day the other twin, named Stella, asked him when he was going to put her in a song!  So he wrote Alligator Pie for her - and it is a delightful song!  I loved that story.  Corn Bread has evolved into a great love song.  Why I Am was dedicated to LeRoi because he was in on the creative beginning of it and liked it.  Dreaming Tree was followed by an amazing jam featuring the sax, flute and trumpet.  #41 went on forever with lots of jazz, Carter and Jeff playing with each other on drums and the saxophone, and a nice long solo for Tim.  The last song in the encore was Grey Street, a song full of personal meaning for me, a perfect conclusion.

Set List:
Funny the Way It Is;  Alligator Pie;  Space Man;  Corn Bread;  Seven;  Out of My Hands;  Why I Am;  Dreaming Tree;  You Might Die Trying;  Everyday;  Sister;  So Damn Lucky;  Squirm;  Ants Marching;  #41;  Time Bomb;  Two Step
[encore]
Rye Whiskey;  Don't Drink the Water;  Grey Street

A week ago I drew a card telling me that my ancestral spirit guides were offering me guidance now and to pay close attention to signs and omens from them.  Three things have happened in the past week that seem like signs to me...

One morning my sister, who lives with my father, called and was quite upset because when she went in to get my father up for the day, he seemed to be disoriented and asked her to go get my mother, who died 18 years ago.  He had seen her and was convinced that she was in the next room.  And he totally refused to get out of bed that day.  My sister didn't know what to do.  But I'm thinking he probably did see my mother, as I sense that she's been around since my doe visited me in November, and had recently begun to think that part of the message she may have been trying to deliver to me was that she would be taking care of my father now.

Another morning my sister gave me a letter that had turned up out of the blue while she was cleaning house.  It was written by my grandfather to all of us, and was postmarked 25 days before the day my mother died.  It was a creative story about his model train village and what was going on there, written probably to cheer up my mother, his only daughter, who was dying of cancer.  He couldn't come to visit her because he had to care for my grandmother, who had dementia and was not yet in a nursing home.  It made me realize now how torn he must have felt between caring for his wife and his daughter.  Perhaps even similar to the way I feel now, torn between helping to care for my frail father and staying home to support my husband, who hasn't had a chance yet to fully recover and change his lifestyle since his heart attack a year and eight months ago.  It's been a painful choice to make, but I think now my grandfather helped me to make it, and I'm happy to report that my husband and I are now getting walks into our routine and pills taken on time.  His doctor has referred us to a dietitian, too, and I know none of this would have happened if I was still running up to my father's several days a week.

Yesterday, another sign.  My sister and I are excitedly planning our third annual Scandinavian-style Midsummer party in her garden.  Last year a Luna moth made an appearance for the event.  This year I thought we might try a frozen vodka.  (You freeze a bottle of vodka in an empty milk carton surrounded by flowers suspended in water, which should look pretty when removed from the carton...)  I went to the package store to get a bottle of vodka and there, to my surprise and delight, all by itself on the shelf, was a blue bottle (my favorite color and I collect blue bottles) of Christiania vodka from Norway.  I am most drawn to my Norwegian heritage and our 5th great-grandmother's name was Christiania!  (She was born about 1748 in Brevik, Norway.)  Maybe in time I will understand if Christiania has a message for me too...